Frame for an advertising sign



March 25, 1963 l. R. YARDER 3,082,558

FRAME FOR AN ADVERTISING SIGN Filed Dec. 11, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY March 26, 1963 l. .YARDER FRAME FOR AN ADVERTISING SIGN 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 11, 1961 YARDER ATTORNEYS Ohio Filed Dec. 11, 1951, Ser. No. 159,291 4 Claims. or. 40-12;

This invention relates to frames for advertising signs and more particularly to a frame for an advertising sign particularly adapted for mounting in the interior of a public transportation vehicle such as an omnibus, street car or the like.

For many years it has been customary to utilize the long narrow area above the windows of a public vehicle, such as a bus or street car, for the display of advertising messages on narrow cards which are slid into moldings extending lengthwise of the vehicle and which may be replaced from time to time with other advertising messages. This conventional type of public conveyance advertising has become so well known to the travelling public at large that very little attention is paid to these advertising cards or messages. For some time, eiforts have been made to develop a type of display sign for use in the interior of a public transportation vehicle which will have a larger attention factor, i.e., which will be more likely to attract and keep the attention of riders and thus be more effective in bringing home to the passengers the message of the advertiser whose copy or ad fills the display.

The necessity for permitting passengers in the bus or street car, whether sitting or standing, to see out of the vehicle in order that they may determine where the vehicle is and when their particular stop is reached, has precluded the use of a much wider space extending the length of the vehicle or obscuring any large area of the standees Windows which are located above the regular side windows of the vehicle and which provide for standees viewing the passing landmarks. It has also been suggested that in newer vehicles the advertising spaces could deliberately be made larger but this, again, cuts into the window space to too great a degree.

It is therefore the principal object of the invention to provide a frame for an advertising sign which is designed to blend into the side walls or window areas of a public transportation vehicle and into its ceiling, utilizing not only the advertising display area of the junction of the window walls and ceiling of the vehicle, but also occupying a part or at the most one complete area of a standees window, the area of the standees window and the advertising card space thereabove being combined and blended together to form a single display area.

It is another object of the instant invention to provide a frame for an advertising sign for use in the interior of a public tranportation vehicle which may readily be installed in even an old vehicle without modification thereof, which is designed to fit into the corner between the window or side walls of the vehicle and its ceiling and which is, by reason of its extra vertical dimension, an unusual and different object which catches and holds the attention of passengers in the vehicle.

It is yet another object of the instant invention to provide a frame for an advertising sign which can readily be placed in vehicles which have already been built without requiring any modification in their interior structures and which can readily be built for installation in difierent types of vehicles having different dimensions, as well as in new vehicles.

And yet another object of the instant invention is to provide a frame for an advertising sign having a much greater surface area than a conventional interior advertising sign of a public transportation vehicle, the sign also providing quick and ready means for changing the advertising copy by changing the sheet or card actually bearing the advertising message by removal of one and insertion of another into the same sign frame without requirin any dismounting or disassembly.

These and other more specific objects and advantages of a frame for an advertising sign embodying the invention will be better understood from the specification which follows and from the drawings in which:

PEG. 1 is a fragmentary view in perspective of a frame for an advertising sign embodying the invention and illustrating its installation in an upper corner between the window wall and ceiling of a public transportation vehicle, showing how it combines the area of a conventional advertising sign and one of the standees windows to provide a large attention ga ering advertising sign;

FIG. 2 is a front view in elevation of a frame for an advertising sign as illustrated in FIG. 1 and shown on a slightly enlarged scale;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the frame, taken from the position indicated by the line 3-3 of FIG. 2 and shown on an enlarged scale;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary, vertical sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 2 and shown on a greatly enlarged scale;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary, vertical sectional view taken along the line 55 of PEG. 2 and shown on the same scale as that employed in FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary, horizontal sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 3, being shown on a scale the same as that employed in FIGS. 4 and 5.

A frame for an advertising sign embodying the invention comprises a horizontal top channel 10 (see FIG. 4-) shaped in the form of an inverted U and having a rear leg 1'1, 2. base 12 which extends forwardly from the rear leg 11 and a front leg 13 which overlies the rear leg 11 and is spaced therefrom, lying in a plane generally parallel to that of the rear leg 11. The front face of the front leg 13 maybe provided with decorative elements, for example parallel ribs 14, and the ends of the horizontal top channel 10 are mitered so as to match similar, upper, mitered ends of a pair of oppositely directed side channels 15 (see also FIG. 6).

Each of the side channels 15 is also U shaped and has a rear leg 16, a base 17 and a front leg 18. As in the case of the top channel 16, the rear leg 16 and front leg 18 of each of the side channels 15 are spaced from each other by the base 17 and lie in parallel planes. The front face of the front leg 18 may be provided with decorative ribs if of the same size, shape and spacing of the ribs 14 on the front face 13 of the top channel ill. The top channel ill and side channels 15 are rigidly connected to each other to form the top and two sides of a rectangular frame by a pair of gusset plates 20 (see PEG. 2). A horizontal bottom channel 21 (see also PEG. 5) is similarly mounted at the lower ends of a the side channels '15 by a pair of generally triangular gusset plates 22. The gusset plates 26 and 22 are all rigidly connected to the respective ones of the top channel 10, side channels 15 and bottom channel 21 by rivets 23 to form a rigid rectangular framework.

The bottom channel 21, like the top channel 16 and side channels 15, has a rear leg 24, a base 25 and a front leg 26, the front leg 26 being spaced from the rear leg 24 by the base 25 and lying in a plane parallel thereto. The front side of the bottom channel 21 may also be suitably decorated. All of the base 12, 17 and 25 of the top channel it side channels 15 and bottom channel 21, respectively, are of the same width so that all of the rear legs 11, 16 and 24 and the front legs 13, 18 and 26 of the channels 19, 15 and 21, respectively, lie in the same planes when they meet so as to provide a connected space, indicated in FIGS. 4, and 6, by the reference number 27, which extends around the entire perimeter of the frame embodying the invention.

It should be particularly noted that the relative widths of the rear leg 11 and front leg 13 of the top channel are quite different from the relative widths of the rear leg 24 and front leg 26 of the bottom channel 21. The space 27 between the legs of the top channel 16 is deeper than the space 27 between the legs of the bottom channel 21 in order to allow an advertising card to be shoved upwardly into the space 27 in the top channel 14), a distance suificient that its lower edge can be pushed inwardly over the top edge of the front leg 26 of the bottom channel 21, and then the bottom edge of the sign be dropped downwardly into the space 27 in the bottom channel 21.

In order to facilitate the insertion of an advertising card or sheet into a frame embodying the invention, it will be observed, particularly in FIGS. 1 and 2, that the front leg 26 of the bottom channel 21 is cut off at a right angle along the lines of the inner edges of the rear legs 16 of the side channels 15, leaving a open vertical slot indicated by the reference number 28 therebetween. When an advertising card or other messagebearing element is inserted into the frame, its upper, outer corners are tucked in the open bottom end of the space 27 in the side channels 16, and its upper horizontal edge is fed over the front face of the front leg 26 of the bottom channel 21. With the upper corner of the card inserted into the space 27 the card can then be shoved upwardly until its entire upper edge enters the space 27 in the top channel 1% and its bottom edge is moved upwardly beyond the upper edge of the front leg 26 of the bottom channel 21. The bottom edge of the sign is then pushed inwardly and inserted downwardly into the space 27 in the bottom channel 21.

The open frame formed by the top channel 10, side channels and bottom channel 21 is closed with a backing sheet 29 that is connected to the channels 19, 15 and 21 by suitably placed rivets 30. As can best be seen in FIGS. 1 and 3 as well as by comparing FIGS. 4 and 5, the side channels 15 and the backing sheet 29 are curved in order that the lower ends of the side channels '15 and backing sheet 29 blend into the vertical frames of the vehicle windows and in order to incline the entire face of the backing sheet forwardly so that the sign mounted in the frame may be read more easily by passengers in the vehicle.

A frame for an advertising sig embodying the invention also comprises box ends by which the space in back of the backing sheet 29 is enclosed and which blend the side channels 15 into the structural members of the vehicle to give the sign a more finished and permanent looking appearance. In this embodiment of the invention, upper box ends 31 have generally arcuate rear edges 32 which are curved to fit into the concave channel, generally indicated at 33 (see FIG. 1) which is provided in a conventional transportation vehicle adjacent the ceiling 34 of the vehicle and a main frame member 35 thereof which extends along above the upper edges of standees windows 36. A sign embodying the invention also has lower box ends 37 which have rear edges adapted to fit against the surfaces of vertical window frames 33 of the vehicle body and the underside of the main frame member 35 thereof. Between the lower edge of the upper box end 31 and the upper edge of the lower box end 37 there should be provided a notch or slot 39 through which a vehicle signal cord 40 can extend.

The box ends 31 and 37 have rear element such as an inwardly turned flange 41 on the lower box end 37 and the inwardly turned arms of brackets 42 for the upper box ends 31. In mounting a frame according to the invention, the box ends 31 and 37 are first fixed in place in the vehicle by suitable metal or wood screws inserted through screw holes 43 and 44 in the flange 41 and brackets 42, respectively. Metal cutting screws 45 are inserted through suitable openings in the bottom box ends 37 (FIGS. 3 and 6) and through ends 46 of a cross brace 47 at each end. Similar screws 48 (see FIG. 4) are inserted in suitable openings in the rear legs 16 of the side channels 15 and through flanges 49 at the front edges of the upper box ends 31. By employing the flanges 21 at the rear edges of the bottom box ends 37 and the flanges 43 at the front edges of the upper box ends 31, these sections of the structure are maintained flat. Correspondingly, through the use of the brackets 42 and brace 47 adjustment between the curvatures of the meeting parts can be achieved quickly and the assembly made rigid. Additional rigidity may be given to the entire structure by setting screws 50 through the backing sheet 29 and the cross brace 47.

It is to be appreciated, of course, that the particular contour of the rear edges of the box ends 31 and 37 is selected to fit the sign and specifically its side channels 15 to the particular shape and contour of the advertising channel 33, the sofiit-like frame member 35 and the window frames 38 of the particular vehicle in which the particular sign is being mounted. While the rear edge of the upper box end 31 is shown as being arcuate and the rear edge of the bottom box end 37 as being straight, these edges may be otherwise contoured and be provided with either inwardly turned flanges or bracket elements, as the case might be, for mounting the box ends on the vehicle to serve as enclosures for the space back of the sign and as braces and mounting means for the sign frame itself.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A frame for an advertising sign, said frame comprising (1) a horizontal top channel having a rear leg, a front leg overlying said rear leg and a base, said back leg having a width substantially greater than said front leg, said front and back legs being generally parallel and spaced from each other, the space therebetween being unobstructed to the base of said channel, (2) a pair of vertical side channels, each of said side channels having an inwardly directed back leg, :1 front leg overlying said back leg and a base, said side channels being curved upwardly and forwardly, said top and side channels having complementary mitered corners with the inner edges of the front legs thereof meeting at the inner sides of said corners and the back legs of said channels lying in the same plane, (3) a bottom channel having a rear leg equal in length to the space between the inner edges of said rear legs of said side channels, a base, and a front leg having a width substantially less than the width of said back leg and a length less than the length of said back leg, the ends of said front leg of said bottom channel being spaced horizontally from the inner edges of said front legs of said side channels, (4) corner means for holding said channels in assembled rectangular frame shape and (5) a pair of box ends erected at the outer edges of the back sides of said back legs of said side channels, said box ends having front edges shaped to fit, the backs of said side channels rear edges adapted to fit the surfaces at the upper end of a side wall and at the outer edge of the ceiling of a trans- 4. A frame according to claim 1 and cooperating portation vehicle, whereby the face of a sign having its means on Said side Channels and Said X ends for removedges in said side channels is at least partially blended into 421my mount-1g Said slde channels 011 Said box endssaid side wall and ceiling.

2. A frame according to claim 1 and a curved metal 5 References (med in the file of this patent back for said frame fastened to at least said back legs of UNITED STATES PATENTS said side channels. 992,191 Hammond May 16, 1911 3. A frame according to claim 1 and means on said 1,059,653 Ash Apr. 22, 1913 box ends for removably mounting said sign frame in the 1,733,890 Leal Oct. 29, 1929 vehicle. M 2,991,577 Bellocchio July 11, 1961 

1. A FRAME FOR AN ADVERTISING SIGN, SAID FRAME COMPRISING (1) A HORIZONTAL TOP CHANNEL HAVING A REAR LEG, A FRONT LEG OVERLYING SAID REAR LEG AND A BASE, SAID BACK LEG HAVING A WIDTH SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER THAN SAID FRONT LEG, SAID FRONT AND BACK LEGS BEING GENERALLY PARALLEL AND SPACED FROM EACH OTHER, THE SPACE THEREBETWEEN BEING UNOBSTRUCTED TO THE BASE OF SAID CHANNEL, (2) A PAIR OF VERTICAL SIDE CHANNELS, EACH OF SAID SIDE CHANNELS HAVING AN INWARDLY DIRECTED BACK LEG, A FRONT LEG OVERLYING SAID BACK LEG AND A BASE, SAID SIDE CHANNELS BEING CURVED UPWARDLY AND FORWARDLY, SAID TOP AND SIDE CHANNELS HAVING COMPLEMENTARY MITERED CORNERS WITH THE INNER EDGES OF THE FRONT LEGS THEREOF MEETING AT THE INNER SIDES OF SAID CORNERS AND THE BACK LEGS OF SAID CHANNELS LYING IN THE SAME PLANE, (3) A BOTTOM CHANNEL HAVING A REAR LEG EQUAL IN LENGTH TO THE SPACE BETWEEN THE INNER EDGES OF SAID REAR LEGS OF SAID SIDE CHANNELS, A BASE, AND A FRONT LEG HAVING A WIDTH SUBSTANTIALLY LESS THAN THE WIDTH OF SAID BACK LEG AND A LENGTH LESS THAN THE LENGTH OF SAID BACK LEG, THE ENDS OF SAID FRONT LEG OF SAID BOTTOM CHANNEL BEING SPACED HORIZONTALLY FROM THE INNER EDGES OF SAID FRONT LEGS OF SAID SIDE CHANNELS, (4) CORNER MEANS FOR HOLDING SAID CHANNELS IN ASSEMBLED RECTANGULAR FRAME SHAPE AND (5) A PAIR OF BOX ENDS ERECTED AT THE OUTER EDGES OF THE BACK SIDES OF SAID BACK LEGS OF SAID SIDE CHANNELS, SAID BOX ENDS HAVING FRONT EDGES SHAPED TO FIT, THE BACKS OF SAID SIDE CHANNELS REAR EDGES ADAPTED TO FIT THE SURFACES AT THE UPPER END OF A SIDE WALL AND AT THE OUTER EDGE OF THE CEILING OF A TRANSPORTATION VEHICLE, WHEREBY THE FACE OF A SIGN HAVING ITS EDGES IN SAID SIDE CHANNELS IS AT LEAST PARTIALLY BLENDED INTO SAID SIDE WALL AND CEILING. 